Heroes of ManaReview

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DS owners your RTS has arrived. Has the Mana series set standards, or does it come up short?

By Bozon

Whether you agree or not the truth is simple: The Mana series is evolving, and it may never be what it originally was during its glory days on the Super NES. Series creator Koichi Ishii (Mana's Miyamoto) has stated time and time again that he wants to continue to evolve the progress the series, moving from gameplay style to gameplay style depending on what type of story he wants to tell, and specifically the platform he is focusing his efforts on. On GBA it was Sword of Mana, and on DS it started as Children of Mana. Now that the team has had the time - and resources - to focus on what the DS can do Mana has again morphed, this time to the world of real-time strategy.

Oddly enough, DS hasn't had a ton of RTS titles thus far, and for a system that lends itself perfectly to the genre we were quite confused. Apparently so was Ishii, as his latest vision is a teamed effort with his creative crew and developer Brownie Brown (Magical Starsign), and it sets a ton of standards for the genre in pocket form. And while the game still has its flaws - some of them quite irritating at times - Heroes of Manais a must-have for any RTS fan, and is a great first step for the DS.

Heroes of Mana sets the story in the same world and mythos as previous Mana titles, dating back all the way to Super NES. In Heroes players will control not one or two main characters, but dozens of "Hero" cast members that start as a loyal crew working for the region of Pedda; an enigmatic nation of the world known as the "Ancient Kingdom" by outsiders due to their impressive use of sorcery and lack of diplomatic relations with the outside world. After an early plot twist the game changes dramatically, as the young protagonist Roget bans together with his allies Yurchael, Qucas, D'Kelli, and Gemiere in a search for not only justice across the lands, but also answers to inexplicable questions about Pedda's past.

Story specifics aside Heroes of Mana is a very straight-forward RTS title for anyone who has played games like Warcraft or Starcraft before. Based on the mission you'll control either a small group of warriors (like Nintendo's own Fire Emblem series) or actually have full control of the mission, using a ship known as the Nightswan to create structures and units for battle. Game control is remarkably intuitive, as it takes the depth and strategy of PC RTS titles and makes them DS-friendly. For starters, all buildings are actually built (and remain) inside the Nightswan, so the the battlefield remains open and uncluttered no matter how evolved your tech tree is. With the simple tap of an icon you'll go into the Nightswan, be able to tap on open building zones, and construct the units of your choice. Once they are made a simple tap brings up the different types of characters you can create, including the ability to cue up to five units of the same type at once. The system is easy to use, and extremely fast.

On the actual battlefield more DS-specific innovations are made, and many of them are absolutely essential for a dual-screen RTS. Commanding troops is as simple as tapping on the unit and tapping again on the intended target, be it friend, foe, resource, treasure, or specific spot on the ground. If you want to grab multiple units simply use the free-hand tool by tapping an icon - which in turn freezes time - and draw any shape needed to encompass all desired units. Once a circuit is created time returns and the units are yours.

Unit management is also a breeze because of the automatic unit grouping, which allows you to hit small bottom-screen icons to immediately select all of the same type of unit, including ground, air, ranged, heavy, hero, or special. As a final must-have aspect to DS play Heroes of Mana has fully-incorporated a "swap screens" button that can be used both in battle and in menus. Tapping this icon simply swaps the screen and allows for full touch control across both display zones, be it equipment management or fast-scrolling with the mini-map. Master this technique and Heroes of Mana will become amazingly intuitive.